Biometric exit with an asset

ABSTRACT

A biometric exit system controls exit of a person from an area with an asset. The system obtains a digital representation of a biometric for the person. The system receives an identification of the person using the digital representation of the biometric. Using the identification, the system receives permissions regarding whether or not the person may exit the area with the asset. If the person is permitted, the system allows the person to exit. Upon allowing exit, the system may transmit a message to the person. The message may include a confirmation of a transaction and/or one or more offers to which the person can respond.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation patent application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/682,320, filed Feb. 28, 2022 and titled“Biometric Exit with an Asset,” which is a continuation patentapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/398,796, filed Apr.30, 2019 and titled “Biometric Exit with an Asset,” now U.S. Pat. No.11,295,566, which is a nonprovisional patent application of and claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,054, filedMay 1, 2018 and titled “Biometric Exit with an Asset,” the disclosuresof which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally to control of people takingassets from a controlled area. More particularly, the presentembodiments relate to using biometrics to determine whether or not toallow people to remove assets from controlled areas.

BACKGROUND

Entities may have assets (such as automobiles, electronics items,clothing, food, and so on) that they wish to allow people to access,purchase, rent, or otherwise use. The entities may wish to restrict howpeople behave with those assets. To accomplish this, the entities maymaintain the assets in a controlled asset area. The entities mayrestrict entry to the controlled asset area, exit from the controlledasset area, how people behave while in the controlled asset area, and soon.

For example, automobile rental agencies may maintain a lot ofautomobiles that people may rent. Renters may interact with an agent inorder to be identified and obtain a rented automobile.

By way of another example, electronics retailers may maintain a storewhere various electronics items are available for purchase by people.People buying the electronics items may select one or more items, takethe items to a register, and pay before being allowed to leave with theitem.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to biometric-controlled exit from an areawith an asset. A biometric exit system controls a person's exit from thearea with the asset. The system obtains a digital representation of abiometric for the person. The system receives an identification of theperson using the digital representation of the biometric. Using theidentification, the system obtains permissions regarding whether or notthe person is permitted to exit the area with the asset. If the personis permitted, the system allows the person to exit. Upon allowing exit,the system may transmit a message to the person. The message may includea confirmation of a transaction and/or one or more offers to which theperson can respond.

In various embodiments, a biometric exit system includes a biometricreader device, a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions,and a processing unit. The processing unit executes the instructions totransmit a digital representation of a biometric for a person at an exitwith an asset; receive an identification for the person; receivepermissions for the person using the identification; and, when thepermissions indicate the person is permitted, allow the person to exitwith the asset.

In some examples, the biometric reader device is a camera. In variousexamples, the digital representation of the biometric is an image of atleast a portion of a face of the person. In a number of examples, thedigital representation of the biometric is an image of at least an irisof the person. In various examples, the digital representation of thebiometric is a digital representation of a fingerprint of the person. Ina number of examples, the permissions are a rental contract associatedwith the asset.

In some embodiments, a biometric exit system includes a biometric readerdevice, an exit control mechanism, a non-transitory storage medium thatstores instructions, and a processing unit. The processing unit executesthe instructions to receive a biometric exit system identifier for aperson from an identification system in response to transmitting adigital representation of a biometric for the person; receivepermissions for the person with respect to an asset in an asset controlarea using the biometric exit system identifier; and, when thepermissions indicate the person is authorized, signal the exit controlmechanism to allow the person to exit with the asset.

In various examples, the biometric exit system identifier is anautomobile rental account number. In some examples, the processing unitprocesses payment for the asset. In a number of examples, the asset ismerchandise at a store. In various examples, the processing unitprocesses a payment for the asset by communicating with a paymentsystem. In some examples, the processing unit identifies the asset. In anumber of examples, the processing unit signals the exit controlmechanism to prevent the person from exiting with the asset when thepermissions indicate the person is unauthorized. In various examples,the exit control mechanism is a gate and the processing unit signals theexit control mechanism to allow the person to exit with the asset byopening the gate.

In a number of embodiments, a biometric exit system includes a biometricreader device, a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions,and a processing unit. The processing unit executes the instructions toobtain an identification for a person at an exit with an asset using adigital representation of a biometric; identify the asset; when theperson has permission to exit with the asset, allow the person to exit;and transmit a message that includes at least one offer.

In various examples, the processing unit is operable to process the atleast one offer using a response to the message. In some examples, theprocessing unit is operable to process the at least one offer if aresponse to the message is received within a period of time. In a numberof examples, the at least one offer includes a purchase offer related tothe asset. In some examples, the asset is a rental automobile. Invarious examples, the at least one offer is an offer to prepay gas for arental automobile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements.

FIG. 1A depicts an example of a system that uses biometrics to controlexiting with an asset from an area.

FIG. 1B depicts the system of FIG. 1A after exit with the asset isallowed.

FIG. 1C depicts a message including a confirmation and offers or otheradd-ons that may be transmitted upon exit with the asset.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a first example method forbiometric exit with an asset.

FIG. 3 depicts relationships between example components of an examplesystem for controlling exit with one or more assets from an area usingone or more biometrics.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart illustrating a second example method forbiometric exit with an asset.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart illustrating a third example method forbiometric exit with an asset.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart illustrating a fourth example method forbiometric exit with an asset.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart illustrating a fifth example method forbiometric exit with an asset.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatthe following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments toone preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included withinthe spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

The description that follows includes sample systems, apparatuses,methods, and computer program products that embody various elements ofthe present disclosure. However, it should be understood that thedescribed disclosure may be practiced in a variety of forms in additionto those described herein.

Many situations involve people attempting to take assets from controlledareas. For example, automobile rental agencies may maintain a lot whereautomobiles are stored until they are picked up by people renting them.Typically, people renting automobiles may interact with an agent whoidentifies the person and verifies that the person has rented theautomobile they wish to exit the lot with. However, this process may beburdensome, time-consuming, inefficient, and inconvenient. If a numberof people are attempting to leave with rented automobiles at the sametime, the time for this process may become lengthy.

This situation is similar to other scenarios where people may attempt totake other assets from other controlled areas. For example, retailersmay maintain a store where various items may be stored until they arepurchased or picked up in person. Typically, people buying an item mayselect it, take it to a register, and pay for it before being allowed toleave with the item. Again, if a number of people are attempting topurchase items at the same time, the transaction time may become lengthyor delayed. This may result in a burdensome, time-consuming,inefficient, and inconvenient process.

The following disclosure relates to biometric exit with an asset. Abiometric exit system may obtain one or more biometrics from a personwith one or more assets at an exit. The system may obtain anidentification of the person using a digital representation of thebiometric and permissions regarding whether or not the person may exitwith the asset. If so, the system may allow the person to exit with theasset.

In some implementations, the system may transmit a message to the personafter allowing the person to exit with the asset. The message may be aconfirmation of a transaction relating to the exit, such as aconfirmation of a rental contract or purchase receipt. The message mayalso include one or more offers related to the asset and/or exit. Theperson may be able to respond to the message in order to accept and/orotherwise interact with the offer.

In various implementations, the system may transmit a digitalrepresentation of the biometric to a system operated by anidentification and/or authorization (“IA”) service. For example, thesystem may capture a digital representation of a biometric for a person(which may be any biological data related to a person that may be usedto identify the person, such as one or more fingerprints, palm prints,gaits, iris scans, retina scans, voiceprints, gestures, and/or any otherkind of biological information about a person), generate a hash or otherdigital representation of the biometric, and transmit the digitalrepresentation of the biometric to the IA service. The IA service maystore digital representations of biometrics for people and biographicand/or other information for those people. The IA service may receivethe digital representation of the biometric, compare the digitalrepresentation of the biometric to the stored digital representations ofbiometrics to identify the person, and return biographic or otherinformation using the identification.

For example, the biometric exit system may associate the person with anaccount number or other identifier, such as by associating a digitalrepresentation of a biometric for the person with the account number orother identifier. The IA service may include the account number in thebiographic or other information stored about the person and associatedwith digital representations of a biometric for the person. Uponmatching the digital representation of the biometric to one of thestored digital representations of biometrics, the IA service may returnthe account number associated with the match. In this way, the biometricexit system can biometrically identify the person without having fullaccess to all of the information stored by the IA service and withoutproviding the IA service access to all information stored by thebiometric exit system.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1A-7 . However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatthe detailed description given herein with respect to these Figures isfor explanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

In various implementations, a system may use biometrics to controlexiting with an asset from an area. Assets may be located in the area. Aperson may attempt to exit the area with one or more of the assets. Whenthe person attempts to exit the area, the system may obtain a digitalrepresentation of a biometric for the person. Using the biometric, thesystem may identify the person. Based on the identification, the systemmay determine whether the person has permission to exit the area withthe asset. The system may determine whether or not the person haspermission by retrieving permissions from a database where permissionsare stored. If so, the system may allow exit. Otherwise, the system mayprevent the person from exiting the area with the asset. In this way,the system may expedite the person's exit of the area with the asset.

In some implementations, the system may transmit a message to the personupon or after exit. The message may confirm the person's exit with theasset. The message may also include one or more offers or other add-ons.In some examples, such offers may be related to the asset. The offersmay provide access to one or more ancillary products or services thatmay allow the system to capture revenue streams that are in addition toany that may be obtained from transactions related to the asset.Traditionally, these ancillary products or services may be offeredduring purchase or checkout. By moving these offers to post-exitsituations, the system may save time and/or reduce the likelihood oflater disagreement or refund if purchased. This may also enhancesecurity of transactions related to the offers as the person may alreadybe identified.

In numerous implementations, a system may obtain a biometric from aperson attempting to exit an area with an asset. The system may generatea hash or other digital representation of the biometric, transmit thehash to an IA service, and receive an identification of the person basedon the transmitted hash. The system may also identify the asset. In someimplementations, the system may use the same component to obtain thebiometric and the asset (such as a camera that is used to capture afacial image of a person and a license plate of a rental automobile). Inother implementations, the system may use different components (such asa camera used to obtain a facial image of a person and a radiofrequencyidentification tag, or RFID, reader that is used to detect an RFID tagof an asset). The system may then obtain permissions for the identifiedperson with respect to the identified asset. If the person is permitted,the system may allow the person to exit the area with the asset. Thesystem may then communicate with a payment system to process payment forthe asset and send a notification to the person. The notification mayinclude offers or add-ons for ancillary products or services to whichthe person may be able to respond.

FIG. 1A depicts an example of a system 100 that uses biometrics tocontrol exiting with an asset 193 from an area. As shown, a person 110is attempting to exit a controlled asset area 102 with an asset. Thesystem 100 (such as using an exit electronic device 101) may preventthat person 110 from exiting the controlled asset area 102 with theasset 193 until verifying that the person 110 is authorized to do so.The system 100 may obtain a digital representation of the biometric forthe person 110, identify the person 110 using the digital representationof the biometric, determine whether or not that person 110 haspermissions to exit the controlled asset area 102 with the asset 193(such as by receiving permissions from a database where permissions arestored), and accordingly allow or deny the person 110 to exit with theasset 193.

The system 100 may use a biometric reader device 153 to obtain thedigital representation of the biometric. Such a biometric reader device153 may be any kind of device that may be used to obtain a digitalrepresentation of a biometric (such as a digital representation of afingerprint, a vein scan, a palm-vein scan, a voiceprint, a facialimage, a retina image, an iris image, a deoxyribonucleic acid sequence,a heart rhythm, a gait, and so on), such as one or more integratedand/or external still image or video cameras, fingerprint readers, 2Dand/or 3D image sensors, capacitive sensors, saliva sensors,deoxyribonucleic acid sensors, heart rhythm monitors, microphones, veinscanners, palm-vein scanners, optical fingerprint scanners,phosphorescent fingerprint scanners, microphones, and so on. The system100 may also identify the asset 193. The system 100 may use a variety ofdifferent asset identification components to identify the asset 193,such as one or more 2D or 3D cameras or image sensors, RFID readers, andso on. In some implementations, the system 100 may use the samecomponent to obtain the digital representation of the biometric andidentify the asset 193. In other implementations, different componentsmay be used. Various digital representations of the biometric may thenbe generated. For example, a hash may be generated from a biometric.

Identification of the person 110 may be performed remotely. For example,the system 100 may transmit a digital representation of a biometric fora person 110 to an IA service. The system 100 may then receive anidentification for the person 110 in response.

Similarly, permissions for the person 110 with respect to the asset 193may be determined remotely. For example, the system 100 may transmit anidentification for the person 110 and/or the asset 193 to an externalsystem where permissions are stored. The system 100 may receive thepermissions in response.

In various implementations, allowing exit may include processing paymentfor the asset. In such implementations, the system 100 may communicatewith one or more payment processing systems to process payment for theasset. Payment may include a purchase price, a rental fee, and so on.

FIG. 1B depicts the system 100 of FIG. 1A after exit with the asset 193is allowed, such as by opening or otherwise operating an exit controlmechanism 111. In this example, the system 100 may transmit aconfirmation or other message to the person after allowing exit. FIG. 1Cdepicts a message 112 that may be transmitted upon exit with the asset193, such as to the person's electronic device 192. The message 112 mayinclude a confirmation 114 and/or offers 113 or other add-ons.

For example, the system 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1B may be a biometric exitsystem for an automobile rental agency. The person 110 may arrange torent an automobile from the automobile rental agency. The person 110 maylocate the rented automobile in an automobile rental agency lot. Theperson 110 may attempt to exit the lot in the rented automobile. Inorder to do so, the person 110 may encounter a gate or other exitcontrol mechanism 111 controlled or signaled by the biometric exitsystem to allow or deny exit as shown in FIG. 1A. The biometric exitsystem may take one or more pictures of the person's face while theperson 110 is in the rented automobile at the gate. The biometric exitsystem may use the person's facial image to identify the person 110. Forexample, the biometric exit system may transmit the person's facialimage or a digital representation generated therefrom to an IA serviceand receive an identification of the person from the IA service. Thebiometric exit system may then determine whether or not the person 110has permission to exit the lot with the rented automobile. For example,the biometric exit system may obtain permissions for the identifiedperson 110 and analyze those permissions to determine whether or not theperson 110 has rented the automobile using an account with theautomobile rental agency. If so, the biometric exit system may lift thegate and allow the person 110 to exit with the rental automobile asshown in FIG. 1B.

In this example, the biometric exit system may transmit a message 112 tothe person 110 after allowing exit. The message 112 may confirm therental contract. An example of this is shown in FIG. 1C.

With reference to FIGS. 1A-1C, the message 112 may also include one ormore offers 113 or other add-ons. In some examples, such offers 113 maybe related to the asset. The offers 113 may provide access to one ormore ancillary products or services that may allow the system 100 tocapture revenue streams that are in addition to those that may beobtained from transactions related to the assets. Traditionally, theseancillary products or services may be offered during purchase orcheckout. By moving these offers 113 to post-exit situations, the system100 may save time and/or reduce the likelihood of later disagreement orrefund if purchased. This may also enhance security of transactionsrelated to the offers 113 as the person may already be identified.

In this way, the system 100 may control exit with assets from an area102 faster than typical systems while using fewer resources and ensuringthat inappropriate access is not allowed. As such, the system 100applies the technologies discussed herein to controlling exit withassets 193 from an area 102.

As illustrated in this example, the message 112 includes a confirmation114 of the rental contract and offers 113 to prepay for gas upon returnof the automobile and to add optional full coverage insurance on therental. The person 110 may be able to click on and/or otherwise selectone or more of these offers 113. If the person 110 responds to one ormore of the offers 113, the person's response may be processed topurchase the prepaid gas, the optional full coverage insurance, and soon. In some situations, a time limit may be associated with one or moreof the offers 113. For example, the person 110 may be able to prepay forgas within an hour of exiting, but may be unable to select that optionafter an hour expires.

Although the above biometric exit system is illustrated and described inthe context of an automobile rental agency, it is understood that thisis an example. In various implementations, control of exit from any kindof area 102 with any kind of tangible or intangible asset 193 may beperformed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.For example, a biometric exit system may control exit with merchandiseat a retail store. When the person 110 attempts to exit with an item ofmerchandise, the biometric exit system may obtain a digitalrepresentation of a biometric for the person 110, identify the person110 based on the digital representation of the biometric, look upprofile information for the person 110 including payment information,and allow exit with the item of merchandise upon processing payment.After allowing exit, the biometric exit system may transmit a message112 to the person 110 including a receipt for the purchase and/or one ormore offers 113, such as an offer 113 for an extended warranty, aservice contract offer related to the item of merchandise, offers 113for purchasing of associated items, an offer 113 to arrange anappointment for installation of the item of merchandise, and/or anyother kind of offer 113.

Although the above biometric exit system is illustrated and described ascapturing a facial image, it is understood that this is an example. Invarious implementations, any kind of digital representation of abiometric may be captured or otherwise obtained without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure. For example, a biometric exitsystem may use one or more digital representations of a fingerprint, avein scan, a palm-vein scan, a voiceprint, a facial image, a retinaimage, an iris image, a deoxyribonucleic acid sequence, a heart rhythm,a gait, and so on.

As described above, in various implementations, the biometric exitsystem may generate a digital representation of the biometric and usethe digital representation to identify the person 110. For example, ahash or other digital representation of the biometric may be generated,transmitted to various other computing or other electronic devices,compared to stored biometric information for the person, and so on.Various configurations are possible and contemplated without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, the biometric exit system may communicate withan IA service. For example, an IA service may authenticate people aspart of an enrollment process. During the enrollment process, the IAservice may authenticate that people are who they purport to be and thenobtain and store digital representations of biometric data for thepeople. The IA service may then receive digital representations ofbiometrics, compare the received digital representations of biometricsto the stored data, and identify people based on matches. For example,the person 110 may have an account with both the biometric exit systemand the IA service. The accounts may be linked such that the biometricexit system transmits a digital representation of the person's biometricto the IA service and receives back an identifier for the person'sbiometric exit system account (such as an automobile rental accountnumber) from the IA service.

In this way, the biometric exit system may enhance security for variousassets 193 that may be removed from various areas 102 while simplifyingand speeding up transactions. Embodiments may also move offers 113 forancillary products or services traditionally offered during purchase orcheckout to after post-exit situations, saving time and/or reducing thelikelihood of later disagreement or refund if purchased. This may alsoenhance security of transactions related to the offers as the person mayalready be identified.

The biometric exit system may also provide solutions to problems createdin the technological context of automating controlled exit from an area102 with assets 193. Embodiments may address the technological problemof how to ensure security in an automated system. Similarly, embodimentsimplementing the exchange of the biometrics (and/or digitalrepresentations thereof) and account identifiers may address thetechnological network problem of appropriately sharing and isolatingsensitive data in interacting computer systems.

The above illustrates and describes the biometric exit system asincluding one or more offers 113 in the transmitted message 112. Suchoffers 113 may be any kind of offer 113. In various implementations, thebiometric exit system may store one or more defaults or preferences forthe person 110 that may specify various options relating to the asset193 upon exit or various offers 113 that may be provided. When theperson 110 attempts to exit with an asset 193, the biometric exit systemmay identify the person 110 using the obtained digital representation ofthe biometric and look up the person's defaults. The biometric exitsystem may then allow or deny exit and configure a transaction relatedto the asset 193 based on the person's defaults. One or more offers 113transmitted upon exit may also be configured based on the defaults,though offers 113 unrelated to any defaults may be transmitted as well.

For example, a person's automobile rental preferences may not specify toprepay gas or to purchase optional full coverage insurance.Alternatively, the person's automobile rental preferences may specifynot to prepay gas or to purchase optional full coverage insurance. Assuch, based on the person's preferences, gas may not be prepaid for theperson and the optional full coverage insurance may not be purchasedupon allowing exit. As these available options were not purchased basedon the person's preferences, they may be selected as offers 113 toinclude in the message 112. Alternatively, another person's automobilerental preferences may specify to prepay gas and purchase optional fullcoverage insurance. As such, payment information stored for the person110 may be automatically used to prepay for gas and purchase theoptional full coverage insurance upon exit.

In some implementations, a biometric exit system may interact withvarious status programs, loyalty programs, or other programs. In suchimplementations, the biometric exit system may process exit with theasset according to preferences a person 110 has specified in an accountwith such a program, determine whether to accord the person 110 one ormore entitlements based on the person's program account, credit atransaction associated with exit to the person's program account,provide the person one or more discounts or offers specific to theperson's program account, and so on.

For example, a person 110 may have an account with a loyalty program.The person's loyalty program account may be associated with a “highstatus.” People 110 with loyalty program accounts that do not have thehigh status, such as a “normal status” may be sent a message 112including one or more offers upon exiting with an asset. However, thehigh status associated with the person's loyalty program account mayautomatically provide the person 110 to a streamlined/low frictionexperience, or provide the person 110 such an experience if specified inthe person's loyalty program account. The streamlined/low frictionexperience may allow the person 110 to exit with the asset 193 withouttransmitting any offers 113 to the person 110, or to be transmittedfewer offers 113. For example, offers 113 to prepay gas or purchaseoptional full coverage insurance may not be transmitted. In some cases,one or more options related to offers 113 that would have otherwise beentransmitted may be selected automatically. For example, the person'sloyalty account may specify to automatically prepay gas, not selectoptional full coverage insurance, and not transmit any offers 113 to theperson 110.

In various examples, the biometric exit system may enable one or moreperks to be provided to the person 110 upon exit. In someimplementations, such perks may include loyalty rewards. For example, akiosk at an exit may present a personalized greeting to the person 110and/or dispense a complimentary soft drink or bottled water to theperson upon exit. By way of another example, exiting with the asset mayearn sufficient loyalty rewards points for the person's loyalty rewardsaccount that the person 110 is entitled to a free night at a local hoteland a kiosk may dispense a voucher for the free night upon exit. Otherexamples may include emailing the person 110 a dinner coupon for a localrestaurant, providing access to a local and expert concierge service,and so on.

Although the above biometric exit system is illustrated and described asincluding particular offers 113 in the message 112, it is understoodthat this is an example. In various implementations, any number ofoffers 113 may be included. For example, an automobile rental lot maystore keys in the automobiles available for rental. A person 110 mayhave rented a particular class of automobile (economy, midsize, fullsize, luxury, and so on) and may select any of that class from a lot.The biometric exit system may identify the person 110 based on anobtained biometric and the selected automobile (such as by communicatingwith a transponder of the automobile, an RFID tag on the vehicle,capturing a license plate image of the automobile, and so on) when theperson 110 exits, look up permissions for the person 110 based on theidentified automobile, and allow or deny exit based on the permissions.For example, the biometric exit system may allow exit if the person 110has permissions to rent the class to which the identified automobilebelongs. By way of another example, the biometric exit system may alsoallow exit if the identified automobile belongs to a higher class thanthe person's permissions allow. In such a case, the biometric exitsystem may provide the person 110 notice of this in the message andprovide the person 110 the option of either returning the identifiedautomobile within a time limit (such as twenty minutes) or accepting anadditional charge for the higher class.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a first example method 200 forbiometric exit with an asset. This first example method may be performedby the system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B.

At operation 210, one or more electronic devices (the exit electronicdevices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or 3 ) may obtain a digitalrepresentation of a biometric at an exit from a person with an asset.The electronic device may use a biometric reader device to obtain adigital representation of a biometric. Such a biometric reader devicemay be any kind of device that may be used to obtain a digitalrepresentation of a biometric (such as a hash or other digitalrepresentation of a fingerprint, a vein scan, a palm-vein scan, avoiceprint, a facial image, a retina image, an iris image, adeoxyribonucleic acid sequence, a heart rhythm, a gait, and so on), suchas one or more integrated and/or external still image or video cameras,fingerprint readers, 2D and/or 3D image sensors, capacitive sensors,saliva sensors, deoxyribonucleic acid sensors, heart rhythm monitors,microphones, vein scanners, palm-vein scanners, optical fingerprintscanners, phosphorescent fingerprint scanners, microphones, and so on.At operation 220, the electronic device may transmit the digitalrepresentation of the biometric to an IA service system. At operation230, the electronic device may receive an identification and/orauthentication of the person from the IA service.

The flow may then proceed to operation 240 where the electronic devicemay determine whether or not the person has permissions to exit with theasset. The electronic device may receive permissions from a local orremote database where permissions are stored as part of determiningwhether or not the person has permissions. If so, the flow may thenproceed to operation 250 where the electronic device may allow exit.Otherwise, the flow may then proceed to operation 260 where theelectronic device may not allow exit.

In various implementations, the electronic device may transmit a messageto the person upon allowing exit with the asset. The message may confirmthat the person exited with the asset. The message may also include oneor more offers or other add-ons. The offers may provide access to one ormore ancillary products or services that may allow capture or revenuestreams that are in addition to those that may be obtained from anytransactions related to the assets.

In some implementations, the first example method 200 may be performedby a computing system that controls a gate at an automobile rental lot.The computing system may capture a person's facial image when the personattempts to exit with an automobile, transmit a digital representationof the person's facial image to an IA service where the person has anaccount that has been linked to the person's automobile rental account,and receive information from the IA service identifying the person'sautomobile rental account. The computing system may determine if theperson's automobile rental account has permission to that particularautomobile. If so, the person's automobile rental account may cause thegate to allow the person to exit with the automobile.

In various implementations, the person's automobile rental account andaccount with the IA service may be linked in a variety of ways. Forexample, the person may visit an agent of the automobile rental agencyand provide details regarding their IA service account in order to linkthe accounts. By way of another example, the person may visit an agentof the IA service and provide details regarding their automobile rentalagency account in order to link the accounts. In still other examples,the person may use a kiosk for the automobile rental agency and providedetails regarding their IA service account or a kiosk for the IA serviceand provide details regarding their automobile rental agency account. Inyet other implementations, the person may visit a web site for eitherthe automobile rental agency or the IA service that uses OAuth orsimilar technology to allow them to log into the person's other accountso that the web site is able to access a limited amount of informationabout the person's other account in order to link the two accounts. Byway of still other examples, an entity with access to information onaccounts of both systems may evaluate the information to link accountsof people who have both accounts and have not yet linked, subject to anyprivacy restrictions that may be imposed on the two sets of accounts. Inyet other examples, messages may be transmitted from one system topeople with an account prompting them to provide their information tothe other system in order to link their accounts. Various configurationsare possible and contemplated without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

In various examples, this first example method 200 may be implemented asa group of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed within a cloud network and/or by one or more computingdevices, such as the exit electronic devices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1Band/or 3 .

Although the above is illustrated and described as using the electronicdevice using the IA service to identify the person using the digitalrepresentation of the biometric, it is understood that this is anexample. In other implementations, the electronic device may use othertechniques to identify the person using the digital representation ofthe biometric.

For example, in some implementations, the electronic device may scan anidentity document (such as a driver's license or a passport). Theelectronic device may compare information from the scan which may thenbe compared to the digital representation of the biometric to identifythe person. For example, the electronic device may extract a name and aphotograph from the identity document. The digital representation of thebiometric may be an image of the person's face or digital representationthereof. If digital representation of the biometric matches thephotograph extracted from the identity document, the electronic devicemay identify the person as the extracted name. Various configurationsare possible and contemplated without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts relationships between example components of an examplesystem 300 for controlling exit with one or more assets from an areausing one or more biometrics. The system 300 may include one or moreexit electronic devices 301. The exit electronic device 301 may be acomputing device that includes one or more processing units 351 or otherprocessors or controllers, one or more non-transitory storage media 352,one or more biometric reader devices 353 (which may be any kind ofdevice that may be used to obtain a digital representation of a hash orother digital representation of a fingerprint, a vein scan, a palm-veinscan, a voiceprint, a facial image, a retina image, an iris image, adeoxyribonucleic acid sequence, a heart rhythm, a gait, and so on, suchas one or more integrated and/or external still image or video cameras,fingerprint readers, 2D and/or 3D image sensors, capacitive sensors,saliva sensors, deoxyribonucleic acid sensors, heart rhythm monitors,microphones, vein scanners, palm-vein scanners, optical fingerprintscanners, phosphorescent fingerprint scanners, microphones, and so on),communication components 354, and/or various other components. Theprocessing unit 351 may execute one or more instructions stored in thestorage medium 352 to perform various exit electronic device 301functions. For example, the processing unit 351 may perform a method forbiometric exit with an asset, such as the first example method 200.

The system 300 of FIG. 3 may also include one or more IA service systemdevices 391, electronic devices 392 of a person whose exit with an assetis controlled by the exit electronic device 301, an electronic device ofthe asset 393, and so on. These devices may be any kind of device, suchas a cellular telephone, a wearable device, a transponder, a mobilecomputing device, a tablet computing device, a laptop computing device,a desktop computing device, a transponder, an RFID tag, and so on. Oneor more of these devices may include various components similar to thosediscussed above with respect to the exit electronic device.

In some implementations, the system 300 may also communicate with one ormore payment processing systems, such as one or more credit cardprocessing or banking systems. The system 300 may communicate with suchpayment processing systems as part of processing payment for an assetupon exit.

The exit electronic device may communicate with one or more of thesedevices using the communication component over one or more wired and/orwireless networks as part of a method for biometric exit. Similarly,several of the above devices may also communicate with each other aspart of the method for biometric exit.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart illustrating a second example method 400 forbiometric exit with an asset. This second example method 400 may beperformed by the system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or the system 300 of FIG.3 .

At operation 410, one or more electronic devices (the exit electronicdevices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or 3 ) may capture a digitalrepresentation of a biometric from a person with an asset at an exit. Atoperation 420, the electronic device may determine whether or not theperson is identifiable based on the digital representation of thebiometric. The person may be identifiable based on the biometric if theperson is enrolled in an IA service used to identify the person based onthe biometric. The person may not be identifiable if the person is notenrolled or if the person's account for the IA service has not yet beenlinked with the person's account in a system involving the electronicdevice that performs the second example method 400. If so, the flow mayproceed to operation 430. Otherwise, the flow may proceed to operation470.

At operation 430, the electronic device may determine whether or not theperson has permissions to exit with the asset. The electronic device mayreceive permissions from a local or remote database where permissionsare stored as part of making this determination. If so, the flow mayproceed to operation 440 where the electronic device may allow exit withthe asset. Otherwise, the flow may proceed to operation 460 where theelectronic device may deny exit with the asset.

At operation 440, after exit is allowed, the flow may proceed tooperation 450. At operation 450, the electronic device may transmit aconfirmation of exit with the asset to the person. In variousimplementations, the confirmation of exit with the asset may alsoinclude one or more offers or other add-ons. The offers may provideaccess to one or more ancillary products or services that may allowcapture or revenue streams that are in addition to those that may beobtained from any transactions related to the assets.

At operation 470, after it is determined that the person is notidentifiable based on the biometric, the electronic device may providean indication to the person. The indication may include informationregarding enrolling in an IA service. Alternatively, the indication mayinclude information regarding linking an account in the IA service withone in a system that includes the electronic device that performs thesecond example method 400.

In various examples, this second example method 400 may be implementedas a group of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed within a cloud network and/or by one or more computingdevices, such as the exit electronic devices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1Band/or 3 .

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart illustrating a third example method 500 forbiometric exit with an asset. This third example method 500 may beperformed by the system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or the system 300 of FIG.3 .

At operation 501, one or more electronic devices (the exit electronicdevices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or 3 ) may take an image of aperson's face in an automobile at a rental lot exit. At operation 502,the electronic device may transmit the image or a digital representationthereof to an IA service system. At operation 503, the electronic devicemay determine whether or not the person is enrolled in the IA service.If so, the flow may proceed to operation 504. Otherwise, the flow mayproceed to operation 510.

At operation 504, the electronic device may determine whether or not theperson is identified. For example, a person may not be identified evenif enrolled in the IA service if the person has not linked an account inthe IA service with an account in a system including the electronicdevice performing the method 500. The IA service may be configured toreturn an identifier for the account in the system performing the method500 if the accounts are linked, but may be unable to return theidentifier if the accounts have not been linked. If so, the flow mayproceed to operation 505. Otherwise, the flow may proceed to operation511.

At operation 505, the electronic device may determine whether or not theperson has permission to exit the rental lot with the automobile. Theelectronic device may receive permissions from a local or remotedatabase where permissions are stored as part of such a determination.If so, the flow may proceed to operation 506 where the electronic devicemay allow exit. Otherwise, the flow may proceed to operation 512 wherethe electronic device may prevent exit.

After exit is allowed at operation 506, the flow may proceed tooperation 507. At operation 507, the electronic device may transmit aconfirmation message to the person. The message may confirm exit, one ormore terms of a rental contract associated with the automobile, and soon. The message may include one or more offers to the person. Forexample, the offers may include offers to prepay for gas upon return ofthe automobile, offers to reserve a hotel room, offers to purchaseoptional full coverage insurance for the automobile, offers to upgradeor extend a rental term of the automobile, offers to make a restaurantreservation, other purchase offers related to the automobile, and so on.The flow may then proceed to operation 508 where the electronic devicemay determine whether or not one or more of the offers are accepted. Ifso, the flow may proceed to operation 509 where the electronic devicemay process the accepted offer. Otherwise, the flow may return tooperation 508 where the electronic device may again determine if one ormore of the offers are accepted.

At operation 510, after the electronic device determines that the personis not enrolled in the IA service, the electronic device may prompt theperson to enroll. Prompting for enrollment may include transmitting amessage to an electronic device belonging to the person, prompting theperson via an electronic device at the exit, and so on. Prompting forenrollment may include obtaining biographic information for the person,obtaining an image of an identity document for the person (such as adriver's license or a passport), obtaining information for the personfrom a third party database (such as using the biographic information,the image of the identity document, and so on), authenticating theperson's identity (such as using the biographic information, the imageof the identity document, and so on), obtaining payment information fromthe person, capturing one or more biometrics for the person to associatewith their authenticated identity, and so on. The flow may then returnto 503 where the electronic device may verify whether or not the personenrolled in the IA service.

At operation 511, after it is determined that the person is notidentified, the electronic device may prompt the person for moreinformation. The information may be information that allows the personto be identified. For example, the person may be enrolled in the IAservice so that the IA service can provide an indication regarding theidentity of the person, but the person may not have linked an IA serviceaccount with an account of the system performing the method 500. Forexample, the IA service may be able to return the person's name, but maynot be able to identify the person's account number on the systemperforming the method 500. This may not be sufficient information for asystem that includes the electronic device performing the method 500 toidentify the person, particularly if the system includes accounts formultiple people with the same name. As such, the electronic device mayprompt the person (such as via the person's cell phone or otherelectronic device, an on-site kiosk or other electronic deviceassociated with the system) to enter the person's account number for thesystem or other identifying information that the system can use toidentify the person. The electronic device may use this information toidentify the person (such as to look up whether or not the person haspermission with the system for the automobile) and/or used to link theperson's accounts.

In various examples, this third example method 500 may be implemented asa group of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed within a cloud network and/or by one or more computingdevices, such as the exit electronic devices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1Band/or 3 .

Although the above is illustrated and described as the electronic deviceobtaining a digital representation of a biometric at an exit in order todetermine whether or not to allow a person to exit with an asset, it isunderstood that these are examples. In various implementations, otherarrangements are possible and contemplated without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

For example, in some implementations, the electronic device may capturea digital representation of a biometric at the entrance to a controlledasset area. The electronic device may identify the person using thedigital representation of the biometric and may determine whether or notthe identified person has permissions to enter the controlled asset areaand/or to exit the controlled asset area with an asset.

Accordingly, FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart illustrating a fourth examplemethod 600 for biometric exit with an asset. This fourth example method600 may be performed by the system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or the system300 of FIG. 3 .

At operation 610, one or more electronic devices (the exit electronicdevices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or 3 ) may capture a digitalrepresentation of a biometric at an entrance to an asset area. Assets inthe asset area may be controlled such that the asset area may beconsidered an asset control area. At operation 620, the electronicdevice may identify the person using the digital representation of thebiometric. At operation 630, the electronic device may configure acommunication device or other component of the asset using theidentification of the person and permissions the electronic device maydetermine the identified person has with respect to the asset. Atoperation 640, the electronic device may allow the person to exit theasset area with the asset when an authorization is received from theasset communication device.

For example, the asset area may be a car rental lot. When the personenters the car rental lot, an image may be captured of the person'sface. The person may be identified based on the image and it may bedetermined that the person has rented a particular car. The car may havea communication device that may be configured to indicate that theperson is authorized to exit the car rental lot with the car. The personmay get in the car and drive to a closed exit gate. The exit gate mayinclude an electronic device that communicates with the communicationdevice. Upon receiving an indication from the communication device thatexit is authorized, the electronic device may open the exit gate.

In some examples, the method 600 may interact with various statusprograms, loyalty programs, or other programs. For example, once aperson is identified using the biometric, a loyalty account for theperson may be ascertained. Various actions may be taken based onpreferences associated with the person's loyalty account, a status ofthe person's loyalty account, and so on.

For example, the person's loyalty account may indicate a preferredautomobile type (e.g., luxury car, midsize sedan, and so on) or specificpreferred automobile (e.g., Corvette, convertible Mustang, and so on).When the person's loyalty account is identified, directions may beprovided to the person to guide the person to an automobile meetingtheir preferences or portion of a rental lot where such automobiles arelocated. Guidance may be provided by an electronic overhead display,using strips of lights positioned on the ground, by transmitting visualdepictions of the rental lot and the person's position to the person'smobile device (such as a cellular telephone or tablet computing device),and so on.

By way of another example, automobile properties may be identified fromthe person's loyalty account and used to prepare the automobile for theperson. In some implementations, ergonomic or other preferences may bespecified in the person's loyalty account. Upon identification of theperson's loyalty account, the preferences may be obtained andtransmitted to the automobile. For example, seating posture, mirrorposition, stereo settings, drive-train characteristics, and so on may beadjusted for the person. In this way, the automobile may be specificallyprepared for the person when the person arrives at the automobile.

In some examples, the person may allow a system implementing the method600 to link to information regarding the person's travel plans. In suchan example, various maps, directions, or other information may betransmitted to the automobile in order to be available to the person ifneeded. For example, a global positioning system or other navigationcomponent associated with the automobile may be preprogrammed withdirections to a hotel where the person has a reservation, a businesswhere the person has an appointment, a restaurant where the person has areservation, a next destination that has been indicated for the person,and so on. Various configurations are possible and contemplated withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

In various examples, this fourth example method 600 may be implementedas a group of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed within a cloud network and/or by one or more computingdevices, such as the exit electronic devices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1Band/or 3 .

By way of another example, in some implementations, a digitalrepresentation of a biometric may be captured by an asset itself. Theperson may be identified based on the biometric and it may be determinedwhether or not the identified person has permissions to exit acontrolled asset area where the asset is located with the asset.

Accordingly, FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart illustrating a fifth examplemethod 700 for biometric exit with an asset. This fifth example method700 may be performed by the system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or the system300 of FIG. 3 .

At operation 710, one or more electronic devices (the exit electronicdevices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1B and/or 3 ) may capture a digitalrepresentation of biometric using an electronic device of a rentalautomobile. For example, the automobile may include an attached camerathat takes a picture of a person's face and the electronic device mayreceive the picture from the attached camera. By way of another example,a fingerprint reader configured on a door handle of the automobile maycapture a digital representation of a fingerprint of the person when theperson opens the door to the automobile and the electronic device mayreceive the digital representation of the fingerprint from thefingerprint reader. At operation 720, the electronic device may identifythe person using the digital representation of the biometric. Atoperation 730, the electronic device may configure a transponder of therental automobile using the identification and permissions theidentified person has with respect to the automobile. At operation 740,the electronic device may configure the transponder to transmitinformation to an exit device to request allowance to exit an automobilelot based on the identification and permissions with which thetransponder is configured.

In various examples, this fifth example method 700 may be implemented asa group of interrelated software modules or components that performvarious functions discussed herein. These software modules or componentsmay be executed within a cloud network and/or by one or more computingdevices, such as the exit electronic devices 101, 301 of FIGS. 1A-1Band/or 3 .

Although the above illustrates and describes a number of embodiments, itis understood that these are examples. In various implementations,various techniques of individual embodiments may be combined withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

In various implementations, a biometric exit system may include abiometric reader device, a non-transitory storage medium that storesinstructions, and a processing unit. The processing unit may execute theinstructions to transmit a digital representation of a biometric for aperson at an exit with an asset; receive an identification for theperson; receive permissions for the person using the identification;and, when the permissions indicate the person is permitted, allow theperson to exit with the asset.

In some examples, the biometric reader device may be a camera. Invarious examples, the digital representation of the biometric may be animage of at least a portion of a face of the person. In a number ofexamples, the digital representation of the biometric may be an image ofat least an iris of the person. In various examples, the digitalrepresentation of the biometric may be a digital representation of afingerprint of the person. In a number of examples, the permissions maybe a rental contract associated with the asset.

In some implementations, a biometric exit system may include a biometricreader device, an exit control mechanism, a non-transitory storagemedium that stores instructions, and a processing unit. The processingunit may execute the instructions to receive a biometric exit systemidentifier for a person from an identification system in response totransmitting a digital representation of a biometric for the person;receive permissions for the person with respect to an asset in an assetcontrol area using the biometric exit system identifier; and, when thepermissions indicate the person is authorized, signal the exit controlmechanism to allow the person to exit with the asset.

In various examples, the biometric exit system identifier may be anautomobile rental account number. In some examples, the processing unitmay process payment for the asset. In a number of examples, the asset ismerchandise at a store. In various examples, the processing unit mayprocess a payment for the asset by communicating with a payment system.In some examples, the processing unit may identify the asset. In anumber of examples, the processing unit may signal the exit controlmechanism to prevent the person from exiting with the asset when thepermissions indicate the person is unauthorized. In various examples,the exit control mechanism may be a gate and the processing unit maysignal the exit control mechanism to allow the person to exit with theasset by opening the gate.

In a number of implementations, a biometric exit system may include abiometric reader device, a non-transitory storage medium that storesinstructions, and a processing unit. The processing unit may execute theinstructions to obtain an identification for a person at an exit with anasset using a digital representation of a biometric; identify the asset;when the person has permission to exit with the asset, allow the personto exit; and transmit a message that includes at least one offer.

In various examples, the processing unit may be operable to process theat least one offer using a response to the message. In some examples,the processing unit may be operable to process the at least one offer ifa response to the message is received within a period of time. In anumber of examples, the at least one offer may include a purchase offerrelated to the asset. In some examples, the asset may be a rentalautomobile. In various examples, the at least one offer may be an offerto prepay gas for a rental automobile.

The present disclosure relates to biometric exit with an asset. Abiometric exit system may obtain one or more biometrics from a personwith one or more assets at an exit. The system may obtain anidentification of the person using a digital representation of thebiometric and permissions regarding whether or not the person may exitwith the asset. If so, the system may allow the person to exit with theasset. In some implementations, the system may transmit a message to theperson after allowing the person to exit with the asset. The message maybe a confirmation of a transaction relating to the exit, such as aconfirmation of a rental contract or purchase receipt. The message mayalso include one or more offers related to the asset and/or exit. Theperson may be able to respond to the message in order to accept and/orotherwise interact with the offer.

The present disclosure recognizes that biometric and/or other personaldata is owned by the person from whom such biometric and/or otherpersonal data is derived. This data can be used to the benefit of thosepeople. For example, biometric data may be used to conveniently andreliably identify and/or authenticate the identity of people, accesssecurely stored financial and/or other information associated with thebiometric data, and so on. This may allow people to avoid repeatedlyproviding physical identification and/or other information.

The present disclosure further recognizes that the entities who collect,analyze, store, and/or otherwise use such biometric and/or otherpersonal data should comply with well-established privacy policiesand/or privacy practices. Particularly, such entities should implementand consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generallyrecognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirementsfor maintaining security and privately maintaining biometric and/orother personal data, including the use of encryption and securitymethods that meets or exceeds industry or government standards. Forexample, biometric and/or other personal data should be collected forlegitimate and reasonable uses and not shared or sold outside of thoselegitimate uses. Further, such collection should occur only afterreceiving the informed consent. Additionally, such entities should takeany needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such biometricand/or other personal data and ensuring that others with access to thebiometric and/or other personal data adhere to the same privacy policiesand practices. Further, such entities should certify their adherence towidely accepted privacy policies and practices by subjecting themselvesto appropriate third party evaluation.

Additionally, the present disclosure recognizes that people may blockthe use of, storage of, and/or access to biometric and/or other personaldata. Entities who typically collect, analyze, store, and/or otherwiseuse such biometric and/or other personal data should implement andconsistently prevent any collection, analysis, storage, and/or other useof any biometric and/or other personal data blocked by the person fromwhom such biometric and/or other personal data is derived.

Although particular methods involving particular operations have beenillustrated and described, it is understood that these are examples. Invarious implementations, various arrangements of the same, similar,and/or different operations may be performed without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. Various configurations are possible andcontemplated.

Aspects of the present disclosure may be performed by one or moredevices, such as one or more computing devices, that may be configuredas part of a system. For example, one or more computing devices thatperform one or more aspects of this disclosure may be part of a cloudcomputing system, cooperative computing arrangement, and so on. Suchdevices may include one or more processors or other controllers orprocessing units, one or more non-transitory storage media (which maytake the form of, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium;optical storage medium; magneto-optical storage medium; read onlymemory; random access memory; erasable programmable memory; flashmemory; and so on), and/or other components. The processing unit mayexecute one or more instructions stored in the non-transitory storagemedium to perform one or more processes that utilize one or more of thetechniques disclosed herein.

In the present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented assets of instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it isunderstood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methodsdisclosed are examples of sample approaches. In other embodiments, thespecific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearrangedwhile remaining within the disclosed subject matter. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not necessarily meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The described disclosure may be provided as a computer program product,or software, that may include a non-transitory machine-readable mediumhaving stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program acomputer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a processaccording to the present disclosure. A non-transitory machine-readablemedium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form (e.g.,software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). The non-transitory machine-readable medium may take the formof, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppydiskette, video cassette, and so on); optical storage medium (e.g.,CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); randomaccess memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM andEEPROM); flash memory; and so on.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the specificembodiments described herein are presented for purposes of illustrationand description. They are not targeted to be exhaustive or to limit theembodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations arepossible in view of the above teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a non-transitory storagemedium that stores instructions; a processing unit that executes theinstructions to: transmit a digital representation of a biometric for aperson at an exit with an asset; receive an identification for theperson; access stored information for the person using theidentification; upon determining that the stored information indicatesto automatically accept at least one offer on exit with an asset,automatically accept the at least one offer that is specified in theinformation when the person exits with the asset; and upon determiningthat the stored information does not indicate to automatically acceptthe at least one offer on exit with the asset, after the person exitswith the asset, provide the at least one offer to the person.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a physical exit control mechanismoperable to prevent exit.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein theprocessing unit, when the information indicates the person is permitted,allows the person to exit with the asset by signaling the physical exitcontrol mechanism.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the storedinformation comprises preferences specified by the person.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the stored information comprises an indication of apurchase associated with the asset.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe stored information comprises a rental contract associated with theasset.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one offer includesa purchase offer related to the asset.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe at least one offer comprises an offer to upgrade a rental contract.9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one offer comprises anoffer to purchase at least one of insurance or gas.
 10. A system,comprising: a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions;and a processing unit that executes the instructions to: receive anidentifier for a person from an identification system in response totransmitting a digital representation of a biometric for the person; usethe identifier to access stored information for the person; upondetermining that the stored information indicates to automaticallyaccept at least one offer on exit from an asset control area with anasset, automatically accept the at least one offer that is specified inthe stored information when the person exits with the asset; and upondetermining that the stored preferences do not indicate to automaticallyaccept the at least one offer on exit from the asset control area withthe asset, after the person exits with the asset, provide the at leastone offer to the person.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein theidentifier comprises an account number.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the processing unit initiates processing of a payment for theasset.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the digital representation ofthe biometric comprises an image of at least a portion of a face. 14.The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit communicates with apayment system prior to allowing the person to exit the asset controlarea.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit identifiesthe asset.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unitsignals a physical exit control mechanism to prevent the person fromexiting with the asset when the stored information indicates the personis unauthorized.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the physical exitcontrol mechanism comprises a gate.
 18. The system of claim 10, whereinthe processing unit is operable to receive a response to the at leastone offer.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the response includes anacceptance of the at least one offer.
 20. The system of claim 10,wherein the asset comprises a rental vehicle.